Today, Elon Musk announced he’s stepping down from his role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a vanity project Trump cooked up to give his favorite billionaire something to do besides tank Twitter in real time. Musk strutted out of the post with his usual smugness, claiming he’s “cut a trillion dollars in waste.” Of course, like every inflated Musk promise, he’s only shown $130 billion in supposed savings, and there’s been zero independent auditing. Zero accountability. Zero reality.

And yet, he calls it a win. He’s “declaring victory.”

Because that’s what conmen do when they run out of time or relevance—they pretend they’ve already won.

Anyone who thinks Elon Musk is stepping down because his job is finished is either in on the grift or too lost in hero-worship to see the obvious. This isn’t about government savings. This isn’t about efficiency. This is about ego, image, and control.

And let’s be real: Trump didn’t like sharing the spotlight with a man who actually believes his own hype. That footage of Musk walking onto Air Force One like he belonged there? Like he was co-president? That was the last straw.

Trump doesn’t share oxygen, let alone credit.

A Charlatan in Tech-God Clothing

Let’s be clear about who Elon Musk is:

A charlatan, dressed in a zip-up fleece of pseudo-intellect and self-promotion, whose “brilliance” has been manufactured by marketing departments and meme accounts.

His far-right flirtations are no accident. His obsession with “free speech” begins and ends with protecting people who already have platforms and power. His authoritarian leanings aren’t a glitch in the code—they’re the feature.

He’s not cutting waste.

He’s cutting oversight.

He’s not reforming government.

He’s testing how much power a billionaire can wield with a meme and a handshake.

And worst of all, he believes that democracy is something you can manipulate with a sweepstakes entry and a smile. His idea of civic engagement looks like a promotional giveaway—Win a Free Cybertruck and a Tax Cut! All razzle-dazzle. No substance. Just the illusion of progress delivered like a Tesla pre-order: overhyped, delayed, and missing the promised features.

The Cult of Victory Without Proof

Elon Musk declares victory in the same way Trump does: loudly, prematurely, and without a shred of verification.

And why not? The people who follow them don’t demand receipts—they demand performance. They want to feel like they’re winning, even if the scoreboard is completely imaginary.

What’s terrifying isn’t that Musk is leaving DOGE—what’s terrifying is that he was ever put in charge of anything involving public money or democratic systems to begin with.

This wasn’t governance: It was a beta test for oligarchy.

And now that the test is done, Musk gets to walk away unscathed, uncensored, and unaccountable.

Just like every other tech messiah before him.

Don’t Call It a Win—Call It What It Is

This isn’t a victory lap.

It’s an exit strategy.

It’s a magician walking off stage before someone notices the wires.

Musk is stepping down, not because the job is done, but because the grift has peaked.

The money’s been moved. The headlines have been written. The public has been distracted.

And Trump—being Trump—was never going to let another conman stand on his stage and soak up the applause.

Elon Musk didn’t fix anything. He didn’t save a trillion dollars.

He just made it easier to believe that saving democracy is a job for billionaires instead of citizens.

And if we let that myth keep growing, we deserve every fraud and flameout that follows.